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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29503374">Revisiting the Clone Wars: Art and Literature from the Front Lines</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lleu/pseuds/Lleu'>Lleu</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Academia, Clone Trooper Culture (Star Wars), Gen, In-Universe Meta, Worldbuilding Exchange: Treat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:47:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,056</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29503374</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lleu/pseuds/Lleu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The editors’ preface to <i>Revisiting the Clone Wars: Art and Literature from the Front Lines</i>, published by Hanna City Underground Press, Chandrila.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Worldbuilding Exchange 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Revisiting the Clone Wars: Art and Literature from the Front Lines</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowersforgraves/gifts">flowersforgraves</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>with apologies to Richard Bauman but in my defense it’s extremely within the spirit of <i>Star Wars</i> to do what I have done to his name.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>While the impact of the so-called Clone Wars on art and literature throughout the galaxy has been well-documented in terms of mainstream artistic culture on both sides of the war (and throughout the Galactic Empire in the aftermath of the war), almost no attention has been paid either by critics or by the public to an enormous and varied body of artistic production during the war, namely the art and literature produced by soldiers fighting in the Grand Army of the Republic, principally so-called “clone troopers”. That realization was the genesis of the <i>Revisiting the Clone Wars</i> project, which originated as a small gallery exhibition organized jointly by students — including two of the editors of the present volume — in the Departments of Art History and Galactic Literature at Hanna City University on Chandrila. The success of that exhibition led the organizers to consider expanding the project, which quickly became a daunting prospect as archival work revealed the sheer quantity of material in question.</p><p>Working more closely with the archive in question also emphasized that a key perspective was absent from the research process: that of the soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic themselves, who were once again — as the poem by Sands CT-2871 included in chapter VII of this volume so powerfully puts it — rendered “name-, voiceless”, with their works often circulating anonymously or with reference only to their birth numbers rather than their names, chosen and given. In an effort to remedy this, we reached out to the Clone Wars Veterans Association on Chandrila, and through the CWVA we were put in contact with Felix CT-7131 and Brand CC-1026, who were enthusiastic about the project and joined the editorial team.</p><p>With their assistance and the help of the CWVA, and in spite of efforts by the Imperial Archives to prevent us from accessing material, we were able not only to create a searchable database of known works by clone artists but also to identify the creators of almost 1,000 previously unattributed works out of the more than 9,000 works we have currently catalogued. With the help of the CWVA’s census team and of individual veterans, we were further able to find the given and chosen names of some 700 clone artists previously identified only by their birth numbers, accounting for approximately 2,000 additional works. We are deeply indebted to the CWVA and to the veterans of the Clone Wars themselves — this project would not have been possible without all of your support. We also want to acknowledge the groundwork laid for this work by the ill-fated and short-lived Clone Wars Oral History Project, whose invaluable collections form the basis of chapters III and IV of the present volume as well as providing some 1,500 works in our larger archive. It also bears mention that given the sheer volume of material we have catalogued, the present volume is inevitably a partial (in all senses) and limited snapshot of clone artistic production. We have done our best to make a representative selection, but there is simply so much to choose from that even that feels insufficient. We hope that this preliminary volume will open the way for further work in this area, both from the <i>Revisiting the Clone Wars</i> project itself and from other scholars, artists, and editors.</p><p>In accordance with the principles recommended by the CWVA, throughout this book we identify clone authors first by their given or chosen name and second by their birth number. Names were and are an integral part of the culture of the Grand Army of the Republic, and it is no coincidence that the acts of naming, being named, or claiming a name feature prominently in many of the literary works included in this anthology.</p><p>Another recurring and, in light of subsequent events, <i>problematic</i> thematic concern throughout this anthology bears comment, namely the relationship between clones and Jedi. The public revelation that the implementation of “Order 66″, which saw most of the Jedi Order executed for treason, was facilitated by so-called “behavioral modification chips” implanted in the clones during their embryonic development, came as both a relief and a source of anguish for many veterans. By focusing on the close relationships that existed between clones and Jedi, we hope that we can support the process of healing and, perhaps, reconciliation for both clones and any surviving Jedi who may find this anthology. The editors of this volume regard Order 66 as a shared tragic and cruel betrayal that destroyed not only the Jedi but also, in many ways, the clones themselves. Order 66 and its aftermath crystallized the sense that many clones already had — as seen in many of the works in this collection — that they did not <i>truly</i> possess free will.</p><p>This, indeed, was the official position of the Empire as we attempted to secure copyright permissions for the works included in this anthology, when we still believed it would be possible to produce it within the bounds of Imperial law: legally speaking, the Imperial Military regards the clones as its property and their artistic production, by extension, as its intellectual property. We strenuously reject this position. When possible, we have sought permission from the artists themselves to republish their work; where this has not been possible, we have tried to contact squadmates and other fellow soldiers who we consider to be their next of kin. In a few cases, we have been unable to identify any next of kin, but ultimately we regard the publication of these works as a matter of public good, a way to correct the many misconceptions that surround the clones, the Clone Wars, and their end. In no case where we were able to contact either the artist or next of kin were we refused permission to republish the texts: without exception, veterans’ stance was that people should be able to hear their stories, to experience the war through their eyes, on their terms.</p><p>For ease of organization, we have divided this anthology into seven “chapters”. Chapter I deals with what we have called “public art”, including some of the best-known examples of clone visual art, namely decorations on GAR vehicles, especially All Terrain Tactical Enforcers (AT-TEs) and the Low Altitude Assault Transports (LAATs) that made up the bulk of the GAR’s landing craft and, unlike many of the GAR’s other military vehicles, traveled with particular clone battalions rather than being tied to larger transports. AT-TEs and LAATs served as the canvases for large quantities of clone art, offering spaces for soldier-artists to articulate unit and battalion identity in visual form. We give particular attention to the artists of the 104th battalion, known within the GAR as the Wolf Pack, whose iconography highlights especially their close relationship with Jedi General Plo Koon.</p><p>Chapter II deals with what we have called “personal art”, primarily comprising tattoos and uniform decorations. In a context where soldiers were widely regarded by civilians and, in many cases, by officials within the Republic Military, as essentially <i>interchangeable</i>, personal art offered an opportunity for both individual expression and a negotiation of the relationship between individual and unit or battalion — that is, between a clone and his brothers.</p><p>Chapter III deals with music and other elements of the small but lively performance culture within the GAR, perhaps most notably a collection of illicit drinking songs collected from members of the 186th Battalion as part of the Clone Wars Oral History Project.</p><p>Chapter IV deals with folklore and other examples of what Rykiard Namuab calls verbal art, ranging from oral histories recorded by the Clone Wars Oral History Project to speeches given by clone officers to jokes told among the rank and file of the GAR.</p><p>Chapter V deals with non-fictional prose. This is the smallest body of material in our archive, but perhaps the most poignant, as it consists almost exclusively of two kinds of texts: battle narratives, and memorials. The former provide a fascinating and at times devastating inside accounts of many of the key campaigns of the Clone Wars. Of particular note in this anthology is Jens CT-2189’s account of the infamous friendly fire incident during the Battle of Umbara. The latter category, memorials, powerfully testify to the close bonds between GAR soldiers, to the trauma experienced by soldiers of the GAR who were, although physically and mentally adults thanks to Kaminoan growth acceleration, ultimately no more thirteen years old by the end of the war, and to their resilience and the strength they found in each other in the face of loss.</p><p>Chapter VI deals with fictional prose, and we are particularly delighted to be able to include for the first time the complete, unexpurgated text of Trapper CT-2974’s surreal erotic fantasy novel <i>Sand and Bone</i>, detailing the intimate relationship between a Jedi general and one of his clone commanders. <i>Sand and Bone</i> was originally serialized in highly censored form in <i>News from the Home Front</i>, a popular but short-lived news pamphlet produced by soldiers of the 212th Battalion. Most copies of <i>News from the Home Front</i> were destroyed — possibly as a direct result of the publication of <i>Sand and Bone</i> — but through outreach from the CWVA we were able to access all but one of the chapters as originally serialized, and Trapper’s husband generously agreed to share his late spouse’s manuscripts with us, on the basis of which we have restored the expurgated content. Along with <i>Sand and Bone</i>, we have included another romantic short story by Trapper and fifteen other stories, ranging from in genre from adventure to espionage to, in one case, an unsettlingly prescient political thriller, Mimic CT-4861’s “Orders and Orders”.</p><p>Chapter VII, finally, deals with poetry. The origins of clone poetry as such are unclear, as literature was not included in the clones’ curriculum on Kamino and non-clone poetry circulated much less readily among the ranks in the early days — per internal complaints retrieved on our behalf from the Imperial Archives — than non-clone prose in genres like erotica and adventure narratives. Nonetheless, clone poetry begins to appear from the earliest days of the war, primarily in free verse and occasionally in highly experimental styles. The poet Max CC-3008 developed an idiosyncratic stress-based form that was subsequently adopted (and adapted) by a number of other poets, several of whom are included along with Max in this volume. However it came to be, poetry went on to dominate the field of clone literary production, and works such as Sands’s untitled poem mentioned above are regarded by the majority of the CWVA members we have spoken to as the zenith of clone literature. For this reason, chapter VII is the longest by far, save for chapter VI (most of whose volume is the result of <i>Sand and Bone</i>).</p><p>We want to emphasize again, finally, that the works we have selected represent only a tiny fraction of clone artistic production. We hope that it will inspire future work by others to continue to make this incredible archive widely available.</p><p>We offer this anthology as an assertion of the value of the clones both as individuals and as a community of brothers — a profoundly felt kinship that continues to structure clones’ relationships to each other and to the rest of the galaxy even now that all clone soldiers have been officially decommissioned. We hope, too, that it will serve as a kind of call to action for all of those who see the deep divisions that run through our galaxy under the rule of the Empire. Throughout the works we have catalogued their is a profound valuation — even in the face of the dehumanization that many of the works document — of <i>freedom</i>, of liberty both individual and collective, and, concomitantly, of that freedom being a collective responsibility, something that all of us — brothers or not — have an obligation to fight for and to practice every day in our own lives, in our relationships with others, and in our struggles for a better future for all.</p><p>We offer this anthology to readers — brothers and friends, veterans and civilians, scholars and popular audiences, and perhaps even Jedi — in memory of all of those who lost their lives during the Clone Wars. None of you chose the war; all of you deserved better. You will be remembered. You <i>are</i> remembered.</p><p>We ask you all: remember.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>yes, Trapper did write an erotic novel about having an affair with Obi-Wan Kenobi. no I will not be taking questions on this.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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